In Moments Like This
Disclaimer: Nearly late to class.
Chapter 9:
She wakes later to the sound of whispers too close to her head. She groans and shifts, some muddled part of her mind noting that she's wearing a nightgown she definitely wasn't in when she fell asleep.
"You'll wake your mum."
"You're the one who was tickling me!"
"Well it's unkind to say someone has a big chin."
"You said my hair was too flat! Not everyone can have hair like mum's."
"That is true. It's magic."
"Neither of you have any ounce of subtlety," she announces, rolling over to face her husband and daughter, who are cuddled up next to her. Charlotte lies between them, her head resting on the Doctor's outstretched arm as he toys with River's curls.
"Sorry mum," they say together before bursting into giggles.
She knew they would get on like a house fire. She didn't, however, anticipate them waking her up when she's only gotten—"Is it really gone one in the afternoon?"
"Mhmm," the Doctor says, arching an eyebrow at her as Charlotte snuggles down between them, cuddling into her side as River rests her head on her hand and looks up at her husband.
"And how long have the two of you been up?" she asks, shooting a smile down at her daughter.
"Charlie came in at what, maybe noon?" he says, exchanging a look with Charlotte.
"I was really tired," Charlotte says by way of response. "He was just sitting there watching you."
"Charlie," the Doctor exclaims, a light flush on his cheeks.
"And he made me wait to come in, so you could put on clothes," Charlotte adds, wrinkling her nose. But her eyes are impish and River laughs, giving her a fast tickle for her cheek.
"That's why the knock was invented, dear," River tells her, grinning as the Doctor huffs, seemingly affronted.
"That's not true. Don't tell her that," he says quickly. "The knock was not invented because people were—oh."
"Indeed, sweetie," River says as Charlotte looks between them. "But, best to dodge that subject. What are we having for breakfast, or lunch, I suppose?" she asks, looking to Charlotte while her husband gets over the fact that knocking and sex might be indelibly linked.
"Waffles!" Charlotte says immediately. "Please?"
"I think we can do waffles," River agrees, looking up at the Doctor. "Will waffles suit you, dear?"
He beams at her and nods emphatically, bending to press a fast kiss to her mouth before he slides out of bed and shrugs on a robe waiting for him on the door of the armoire.
"Did you make this?" he asks, glancing at Charlotte. She nods. "It's brilliant. Thank you."
Charlotte blushes and burrows further into River's side, making both of them laugh.
"Ingredients are in the kitchen?" he asks.
"You're making breakfast?" she asks, slightly incredulous.
"Oi! I make a great breakfast." River merely arches an eyebrow. "I made you breakfast, a few times. There was that one after you'd been nearly killed in that Sontaran battle—you said it was fabulous."
River nods at him, smiling. It had been…edible. But he'd made such an effort, she couldn't help but love it a bit.
The Doctor grins and strides out of the room, leaving River and Charlotte alone in the big bed, listening as he whistles his way down the stairs.
"You'll doctor it up for us if the Doctor can't, won't you?" River whispers to Charlotte.
The girl nods before breaking into peals of giggles, forcing River to join in. After a moment, they settle back out and River relaxes against the sheets, looking down at her daughter.
"How are you, darling?" she asks as Charlotte stretches.
"M'good, mummy. Are you?"
"I'm fantastic," she tells her, tapping her nose lightly. "Do you feel well? All that time and space sitting well in your head?"
Charlotte nods slowly. "It's different," she admits. "But it's getting quieter. I think it'll end up being like the books."
"Where you can draw it up at will and put it back when you want to?"
"Yeah," Charlotte agrees.
River smiles and brushes a stray hair from Charlotte's forehead. To have all of time and space at her disposal—what a child. "Oh, the Doctor will hate that," she thinks out loud.
"Hate what?"
"You being quicker than he is."
"What?" Charlotte looks mildly panicked and River sighs, shaking her head at her daughter.
"He'll actually think it's marvelous, but he'll be insufferable about it."
"About what?" Charlotte insists.
"Well, you see, the Doctor has all of this memory clouding his mind, and so when he thinks of all of time and space, sometimes he gets it a little wrong. But you can pull it up like an encyclopedia. It'll drive him a bit mad when you can think of things before he can. But it'll be such fun."
"He won't hate me?" she whispers.
"Not at all dear," River say immediately, giving her a quick squeeze. "He'll love it, and love you. Now, how about we freshen up and then go see how my husband's doing with breakfast, lunch, whatever it is?"
"Okay."
River smiles and follows her daughter out of bed, sending her out of the room with a pat on the head and a smile. The Doctor may be in just a robe and his pants, but she dons a sundress, popping and rebuttoning her third button twice before leaving it open. She's gotten used to dressing demurely—as demure as she ever gets—for her daughter. But she supposes a little more cleavage won't scar Charlotte forever, and the look on the Doctor's face just might be worth it.
Humming, she goes about freshening up and trying to do something with her hair. Eventually, she tosses it up on top of her head with a huff; it's utterly unmanageable. She knows within three minutes of seeing her, the Doctor will go and take it down anyway, but at least she'll feel like she's made some sort of effort.
"Ready, mummy?" Charlotte calls, leaning against the doorframe to the bedroom.
River comes out of the bathroom and smiles at her daughter. Charlotte takes her hand and leads her downstairs, babbling excitedly about all of the things they just have to show the Doctor.
"Almost ready," he announces as they enter the kitchen.
She grins as she spots the places he's set at the island. He never did like eating at the dinning room table; the stools at the island were far too enticing. It makes her chest swell to see the miss-matched plates set out with their respective mugs. He seems to have found the large red one he used to love, years ago.
It actually smells amazing.
"I told you I can cook," he whispers, making her shiver as he passes her, plates laden with waffles in his hands. "Sit, ladies."
She and Charlotte oblige, clambering onto the stools as he pours juice for them, spinning around for tea a moment later.
"Eat."
Charlotte grins and digs into her plate, groaning around a mouthful. River waits until he sits down beside her, too busy watching her daughter practically inhale her waffles. The Doctor can make waffles—sinful waffles, if Charlotte's exuberance is anything to go by.
"Go on then," he says, nudging her.
River turns and considers him for a moment before cutting into her own stack and dragging them through the syrup. He watches her with avid interest as she takes her first bite, immediately moaning. Good Lord, he can make waffles. He makes the best waffles she's ever tasted.
"When did you learn to cook?" she demands as she takes another hasty bite. "These are delicious."
He laughs, so inordinately pleased with himself as he cuts off his own bite. "I've had four hundred years, dear."
"And in the first twelve hundred you learned to make passable toast and a decent grilled cheese," she shoots back, smiling as Charlotte giggles into her juice.
"I got bored this time around," he defends, licking syrup from his finger before darting his eyes to her chest.
"Apparently."
"Are you saying you'd rather I not exercise my culinary talents?"
"No!" she and Charlotte exclaim in unison. Oh, damn, he'll be utterly smug.
"Then quiet down and eat," he says, smirking at her. River rolls her eyes but goes back to her breakfast. "Now, about this tour I'm getting," the Doctor says, leaning around her to look at Charlotte. "Where are we starting?"
(…)
The first time Charlotte teleports them, River thinks the Doctor's eyes might actually pop out of his head.
"You—but—we—" he stumbles out, spinning around in a circle as they stand in the middle of the Library courtyard. "We were at your house."
"And now we're here," River says easily, patting his arm. "Really, for a Time Lord, this is a little pathetic."
"But you just—what, wished us here?"
Charlotte nods proudly, obviously delighting in being able to baffle the Doctor. "It's easy."
"But it's not possible!"
"It just happened, sweetie. So obviously, it is."
"I just—I—" he glares at the both of them for a moment before huffing and turning round to take in the space. "Where are we, then?"
"The Library courtyard," Charlotte tells him. "Before everyone wanted houses, we lived in that side," she adds, pointing to the right side of the courtyard. "But now there's more books in there."
"Oh, you got rid of it?" River asks, oddly sad at the thought. She loves her house with Charlotte and now with her husband, but she has a soft spot for that first room, for her archeology library.
"Your library is still there," Charlotte says, reaching out to hold River's hand. "But I could bring it to the house if you want."
"Your library?" the Doctor asks.
"Mummy's archeology library," Charlotte tells him, as if he's a little bit slow, bless her.
"An archeology library? Whatever for? I could tell you a bunch of bad facts and be done with it."
"Archeology is cool!" Charlotte exclaims before River can even open her mouth. "And mummy's a brilliant archeologist. She corrects the books and everything."
The Doctor goes from cowed to delighted in a second, beaming at River. "You still do that?"
River nods, biting her lip, feeling oddly shy. It had been their game together—passing notes through thousands of years, little corrections in Gallifreyan or code only they could understand. But she never knew if it meant as much to him as it did to her.
"Show me sometime?" he asks eagerly.
"If you'd like," she gets out, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.
He grins and tugs the tie out of her hair, causing it to tumble down to just below her shoulders. "It's longer," he observes as Charlotte begins leading them out of the courtyard.
"It was like this the last time we saw each other," she says absently.
"Was not," he mumbles, as he slings his arm over her shoulders to wrap a curl around his finger.
"It—oh, well, when was the last time you saw me?" she wonders, glancing at him only to see his jaw tighten. "Well, not me, me, but younger me?"
"You were at University," he says quietly, shooting Charlotte a smile as she spins around, a few feet ahead of them. "Where are we headed next?" he calls out.
"The river!" Charlotte replies, spinning round again to skip ahead of them.
"Was—the night you came just before my finals, and I yelled at you?" she asks when Charlotte gets a ways ahead of them.
He simply leans in and kisses her cheek. "You were adorable."
"I was horrid," she groans. "Absolutely horrid."
"Yes, well, I still made off with the better end of the deal. And you kissed me goodbye, actually."
"If trying to ravish you rather aggressively against my dorm room door counts as a kiss goodbye," River muses, smiling at the memory. "Oh, you so got the better end of the deal."
"I'm sure I would have—well, a good snog wouldn't have been out of the question on your end either," he says, laughing as she swats at his side.
"You would have hated it."
"Not true!" he insists. "I could never hate kissing you."
She turns to look at him as they come up on the river bank where Charlotte waits, hands on her hips, impatient with their slow progress.
"You've become a sap in your old age," she tells him, reaching up to fiddle with his floppy hair.
"You love it," he argues.
"I'll push you both in the river if you don't stop being mushy," Charlotte threatens, grinning as they laugh and turn their attention back to her.
"Sorry, dear," the Doctor says, releasing River's side to stand beside her daughter. "So, this is the river."
"Yep," Charlotte says, glancing down into it. "We could go on a boat ride."
"But there's no—"
The Doctor yelps as a dock and a canoe appear in the water, the river widening to accommodate the changes.
River laughs and pats his back as he takes deep breaths. "Honestly, sweetie."
"You've had time to get used to all the—the—she's magic!"
"I'm not magic," Charlotte snorts, giggling into her hands. "You're so silly."
"You're—well, you're certainly something," he offers as he calms down. "And you condone this? This—this—random object making?"
"I…frown on unexpected large gestures," River says, giving Charlotte a look. But the girl completely ignores her, grinning back with a sparkle in her eye. "But watching you jump is rather fun."
"Oh, I hate you," he growls.
"No you don't," she says with a grin. "Now, Charlie. A boat ride, really? Shouldn't we introduce him to the others first?" Charlotte gives her a startled look, almost caught, as if—oh. "How about a boat ride over to Evie's? Then we'll give Anita and Dave a call, hm? And then tonight maybe the three of us will explore the TARDIS."
Charlotte beams at her and nods excitedly. "Can we? We can, right Doctor?"
"Of course," he says, seemingly done with his pout. "Now, will you teach me how to steer this thing? I'm not that good with a paddle."
River covers a snort with a cough as she follows them into the canoe, grabbing a paddle for herself as she steadies Charlotte and gets her sitting in the middle of the boat with the Doctor at the front.
"What?" he asks, turning his head to look back at her. "I've—oh, shut up, River."
"Did I say something?" she asks innocently, images of a very water-logged kayaking trip with her parents flooding her head. He's not a particularly graceful swimmer either.
"You paddle on your side, mummy on hers, and we'll go forward," Charlotte says easily. "Right?"
"Right," River agrees, watching as her gangly husband helps her push off from the dock. The tide picks them up immediately and they begin to whip down the river. "Or the tide does it for us. Charlie, are you—"
"Nope," Charlotte says innocently. "I would say first."
"Liar," River says, nudging her with her toes.
Charlotte merely grins and watches as they move gently down the river, passing great sweeping fields and groves of trees. River looks around with the same awe as her husband. She's not seen these views.
"Charlie," she reprimands. She must be making them as they go.
"They've always been here," Charlie says immediately. "You just haven't seen."
"Saving the special treatment for the Doctor. I see," River says, laughing as Charlotte turns startled eyes on her.
"No, I—"
"Darling, I'm kidding," she tells her daughter, smiling as she huffs.
"You're mean."
"She is," the Doctor agrees as they come around a large bend bringing Evie and Dave's cottage in sight.
"Shush, you," River calls out to her husband.
"What? You've already told her about me. It's unfair."
"Just the funny things," Charlotte interjects. "She won't tell me the bad things, even when I ask."
The Doctor turns his head to look back at her, and for once, she can't decode the look on his face. "Well, there's nothing bad about your mum, so I guess we're even," he says after a moment.
The boat nudges gently at the shore and they jostle. Charlotte tosses a rope out of it, catching on a peg that sprouts from the ground before she hops out of the boat and waits impatiently for them on the bank. The Doctor jumps out ahead of her and extends his hand back, taking her hand in his to help her out of the boat, utterly unnecessary, but sweet all the same.
"Thank you, dear," she says as they begin walking up the hill from the bank to Evie and Dave's house.
He doesn't release her hand, merely raising it to his lips for a brief kiss before tugging her after him as he scampers after Charlotte.
"Evie!" Charlotte calls as they reach the top of the hill. "Evie, Dave, come quick!"
River shakes her head at her daughter as they hear clattering inside. "You'll frighten them, dear."
"They'll be too busy kissing otherwise," Charlotte says with a put-upon sigh.
"Charlotte," River chides, holding back a laugh.
The Doctor makes no such effort and turns to her with delighted eyes. "Miss Evangelista and Proper Dave? Really?"
"We've been here a while," River says, patting his cheek as he frowns at her. "And they're a good fit."
"What on earth are you yelling ab—" Evie says as she stumbles onto the porch, stopping mid word to stare at the Doctor. "Dave!"
"What? Is Charlotte alrig—"
They stand there gaping as the Doctor waves jovially. "Hello again! Different face, obviously. But you look exactly the same. So good to see you."
He jumps up the stairs and hugs them each in turn, oblivious to their stiff limbs and hanging jaws. The Doctor then takes the four stairs at a leap, stumbles and stands straight as he looks up at them.
"Wonderful house. Well done, Charlie," he says as Charlotte steps up beside him.
"Thanks."
"You're—you're here," Proper Dave says. "But you don't—is this the right one, then?" he asks, looking to River as she slowly joins her husband and daughter by the bottom of the steps.
"Yes. This is my overly effusive husband. Doctor, you remember Evie and Proper Dave."
"Of course I do," he says happily. "Glad to see you're here. Figured with all the fuss, I should come and check it out."
River slaps his side and he laughs, slinging his arm around her shoulders.
"You're, well, you're dead then," Evie wonders as she slowly relaxes next to Dave. "Sorry. I mean—"
"As a doornail," the Doctor says easily. "But I set up a link and got the TARDIS to bring me to the mainframe and send me in. Got in last night."
"Explains the moon," Proper Dave says softly, taking Evie's hand. "And you were worried."
"Well it was unnatural," she argues, nudging him. "So," she adds, meeting River's eyes as the Doctor toys with one of her curls. "Good night?"
River laughs and Charlotte giggles. "He showed up on the beach, Evie," Charlotte enthuses. "And later we're going to tour the TARDIS. He promised. And it looks just like mummy said it did!"
"That's wonderful," Evie tells Charlotte. "And how do you feel? Must have been quite the surge."
"I feel amazing!"
"She's been a bundle of energy all afternoon," River offers, laughing as Charlotte leans around the Doctor to scowl at her. "You have."
"Mum," Charlotte hisses.
The Doctor barely conceals a laugh, turning his head into her hair to stifle his smile. Charlotte gives them both a look then bounds up the stairs to whispers with Evie and Dave. River steps back from the Doctor and tries to give him a stern looking, failing when she catches the glimmer in his eye.
"Behave," she whispers.
"Make me," he says back.
"Maybe I will." He smirks. "Later."
"Spoilsport," he mumbles as Evie and Dave accompany Charlotte down the stairs.
(…)
Meeting the others is a louder affair.
Josh and Ella practically climb all over the Doctor, bursting with questions. Other Dave nearly joins them in excitement, half corralling his kids, half egging them on. Her husband takes it in stride, running around with them as Charlotte trails slowly after them, smiling at their antics.
"So he's here," Anita says softly, standing at her side by the edge of the playground.
"Yes," River replies, and she can hear the happiness in the single syllable.
"And he's the right one? Your Doctor?"
"Yes," River repeats with a smile. "My gangly, clumsy Doctor." The Doctor tumbles to the ground, tripping over something. The kids rush him, flopping down on top of him and giggling at his over-blown, "Oof!"
"You look—you look fantastic," Anita says, bringing her attention away from the jumble of children on the playground.
River blushes and tucks her hair behind her ear. "Thank you."
"And Charlotte?"
River smiles and catches a glimpse of her daughter riding on the Doctor's back, holding his sonic over his shoulder as he sprints up the steps of the taller play set, Josh, Ella, and Dave in hot pursuit.
"She's happy I'm happy, and they're getting along swimmingly," River says, turning back to Anita. "I think—I hope they continue to."
"And you?" Anita asks, giving her a sly grin.
"I'm—I feel fantastic," River admits. "Just—yes, wonderful."
"He's not what I imagined," Evie offers as she walks over to join them, leaving Proper Dave by the table of snacks Charlotte simply insisted they had to have.
"The way you spoke about him," she continues with a small blush. "Well—"
"He does stumble more than I imagined," Anita adds with a laugh.
"It grows on you," River says, smiling at them both. "But yes, he doesn't always look the part, but he's—" she looks back at her husband. "He's everything."
Anita squeezes her hand then laughs as Other Dave and the Doctor manage to pick up all three children and whirl them about.
"I have a feeling he'll be a terrible influence on Dave," Anita remarks.
"Oh, I'm sure," River says with a laugh. "As much a child as all of them."
"And yet not, judging by that glow you've got going."
"Anita," River protests as both women laugh. "Shut up."
"Oh, dear, it's wonderful," Evie says, patting her shoulder. "You deserve it."
"Agreed," Anita says. "It seemed so unfair that you ended up alone, and all of us…not."
"I've never been alone." River meets Charlotte's eyes as she sneaks up on the Doctor, a finger pressed to her lips and a grin on her face.
"But it's not the same," Evie says softly.
"No," River agrees, laughing as her daughter fails to surprise her husband and the two of them fall to the ground in a skirmish. "But now it's—I get both and that's—" she trails off, seemingly lost for words.
"It is, isn't it?" Anita says with a small laugh.
"What are you three talking about, then?" Proper Dave asks, walking up to them with a napkin full of biscuits.
"Men," they reply at once, laughing as he scowls at them.
